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U.S. Circulates New Draft Proposal for Iran Sanctions

UNITED NATIONS — The United States is circulating a draft of new, tougher sanctions against Iran that concentrate on the banking, shipping and insurance sectors of Iran’s economy and is now waiting for China and Russia to signal that they are willing to start negotiating over the measures, United Nations Security Council diplomats said Wednesday.

The proposed sanctions would both broaden the scope and intensify three previous rounds of sanctions enacted since 2006 in an effort to persuade Iran to halt uranium enrichment and negotiate the future of its nuclear development program.

The diplomats said the proposed sanctions called for an outright ban on certain transactions with Iran, whereas the existing sanctions called on United Nations members to exercise “vigilance” or “restraint” in interacting with Iran in some areas of weapons trade, shipping and banking. The focus is on the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps, which runs a vast array of Iranian businesses, while the oil industry is not included, diplomats said.

The proposed sanctions seek to expand other aspects of those already in place, including the list of banks singled out, adding at least the country’s central bank to Bank Melli and Bank Saderat, which were listed before.

The new sanctions would also expand the list of individuals facing a travel ban and assets freeze for their work in the nuclear program. Sanctions to date, which run to about six pages, have singled out companies and individuals involved in the nuclear and missile development programs or in efforts to help to finance them. They include a ban on arms exports.

There has been no reaction to the draft from China, which has publicly opposed sanctions, but the United States and its Council allies are hoping that James B. Steinberg, the deputy secretary of state, will elicit a response in talks this week in Beijing.

At the United Nations, the previous Chinese permanent representative, Zhang Yesui, has left to take up his new post as ambassador to Washington. The new ambassador, Li Baodong, who previously represented China at the United Nations in Geneva, planned to present his credentials to begin work on Thursday.

The proposed measures, already negotiated by the United States, Britain, France and Germany, are likely to be diluted in further talks. The initial reaction from Russia was negative. The Russians said the measures were too strong, diplomats involved in the talks said, with one noting, “There is quite a bit that they didn’t like.” Yet Moscow continues to endorse the idea of new sanctions in tandem with talks.

“When we sought and continue to seek to keep the negotiation window open, Iran has not followed up with the appropriate responses that we expected,” Vitaly I. Churkin, the Russian ambassador to the United Nations, said at a news conference late Tuesday.

He said Russia was increasingly concerned about the latest conclusions from the International Atomic Energy Agency indicating that Iran might be seeking to develop a nuclear weapon despite its claims of peaceful intent.

“When they are not satisfied with what they see in their cooperation with Tehran, we are obviously also very concerned,” Mr. Churkin said. “This raises worries about the nature of their nuclear program.”

Mr. Churkin said he had not received instructions from Moscow to begin talks over the new round of sanctions. Still, that puts Beijing in the position of being the lone standout.

Mr. Churkin said as much. “The value of the six is obvious,” he said. “I see no reason why the six cannot continue to work effectively in hammering out joint positions in our dealings with Iran.”

The Western nations want a Security Council resolution finished before May, when the world powers will be engaged in reviewing the global Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty and when Lebanon, home to the militant group Hezbollah that is closely allied with Iran, will be president of the Council.

President Obama is holding a nuclear summit meeting in Washington on April 12 and 13; diplomats say that if the sanctions are not negotiated by then, the leaders themselves may be able to resolve any differences.

Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton, on a trip to Latin America, was unable to budge Brazil from its opposition to sanctions against Iran. Brazil’s president, Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, ruled out supporting a resolution even before he met Mrs. Clinton on Wednesday.

“It is not prudent to push Iran against a wall,” Mr. da Silva told reporters, according to The Associated Press. “The prudent thing is to establish negotiations.”

Mrs. Clinton, administration officials said, argued that imposing sanctions would focus the attention of the Iranian government. But Brazilian officials responded that they feared that such measures would only lead Iran to harden its position.

Brazil is a voting member of the Council, and while its support is not necessary to pass a resolution, the United States is seeking global unity in the confrontation with Iran.

In previous rounds of sanctions negotiations, the opening position of both Russia and China has been that the sanctions are much too strong and that there is insufficient proof to link all the suggested entities or individuals to nuclear proliferation activities. So intelligence experts from the United States, France, Britain and Germany are amassing as much evidence as possible to expand the list of specific entities.

One diplomat, expressing frustration with the level of proof demanded by China and Russia, said their negotiators went down the list as if they were expecting to get “a picture of each guy building the bomb.”

Mark Landler contributed reporting from Washington.

A version of this article appears in print on March 4, 2010, on Page A9 of the New York edition with the headline: U.S. Circulates New Iran Sanctions Draft. Order Reprints|Today's Paper|Subscribe